Frequently Asked Questions

Your vehicle should be at least mechanically driveable - steering, suspension, brakes and tires operational, seats mounted, and the transaxle spins and shifts. The engine doesn't need to run (or even be there at all), but either way if the engine is there, we will remove it. Ideally, it is a 12-volt model Beetle, or 12-volt converted. We can accept and convert 6v systems, though there are extra labor and component costs. (At this time we do not perform 6v to 12v upgrades, though we may offer that in the near future).

Your completed EV conversion will drive like an EV - smooth, relatively quiet, and torquey. However, the other sights, sounds, and smells of your classic EV will remain (minus the gasoline and exhaust smells). This includes any rust, interior rips or tears, and all the rattles and clanks, which may be more apparent when not covered up by the engine sound. Overall, we find the experience to be much improved, and more enjoyable for everyone. It will also be less likely to leave you stranded on the road due to a faulty ignition or fuel system problem. If you prefer, we can even dial the power down to be closer to the original vehicle's power output to really maintain the driving feel.

Yes and no. If you want to, sure. We can provide shift speed recommendations for spirited driving, economy driving, etc. for your specific vehicle. With the electric powertrain, many find it possible to just utilize one or two gears for the majority of their driving. For example, you may find that you can leave the car in second or even third gear to get around for most of your driving. Others use just second gear around town, and fourth on the highway. So if you prefer not to shift or use the clutch, that is certainly possible. We prefer to still shift through all of the gears, which can be done leisurely or more aggressively, though you will run through the gears much faster with the added power. You do not need to depress the clutch pedal when coming to a stop, however, which is much nicer in stop-and-go situations like stop signs and traffic jams, and minimizes wear.

Due to the minimum voltage requirements for CCS charging, our current offerings are not able to utilize DC fast charging, including CCS and Tesla Superchargers. We may have future offerings with this capability. The onboard chargers that we install are always at least a minimum of 6 kW, and they will fall to a lower power if instructed by the charging station via the J1772 protocol. This onboard charger will generally charge your battery from 0% to full in about 4-5 hours, depending on the particular station and what battery option you select.

Your EV conversion will utilize regenerative braking in some form. There are a few options as to how exactly that regen system operates. Overall, if driving leisurely, you may find that you have little use for the hydraulic brakes other than when stopped. However, in a rear-wheel drive system, the regeneration only operates on the rear tires, so there are limits as to how much regen we can dial into the system without upsetting the balance of the car. Something close to one-pedal-driving is possible, and we can make one-pedal-driving possible in some instances with some additional components and software. Or, you may prefer to have the car drive more like it originally did and we can integrate or blend regen with the brake pedal. We will discuss your preferences for braking regeneration during the interview stage.

You can go either direction on this. If you ask us, we would prefer you restore the car after the EV conversion, as the restorer may want to add more styling to our finishes. They also won't have to worry about the engine, gas tank, and related components. However, if you have an already / recently restored classic vehicle we are happy to perform the electric conversion on that as well.

You may prefer to do your own conversion, certainly that is a good choice for some people. However, be aware that most Do-It-Yourself conversions take well over a year - if not two - and require a large time commitment with a steep learning curve. There are a number of skillsets and tools you need to complete an electric vehicle conversion:

1. Mechanical Skills

You need to be comfortable turning a wrench and working on cars. Many people are. Ideally you should have experience removing engines, replacing clutches, changing brakes, changing batteries, stripping interiors, installing stereos or alarm systems, and more. You will be interacting with almost every core system in a car during an EV conversion.

2. Electrical Skills

You should have extensive experience stripping wires, soldering, crimping, and pinning/depinning. You will be doing these things a lot, with wire gauges ranging from 22 AWG to 2/0 AWG or thicker. The ability to read and understand detailed wiring diagrams is also a necessity.

3. Software Skills

Many of the components need extensive configuration in software. Throttle maps, instrumentation and error reporting, system troubleshooting, motor commissioning, battery & BMS configuration, and various other tasks are all setup in the software. CANBUS experience is optional but highly recommended, as many of the components need to talk to each other via CANBUS for an optimal system. Early EV conversions over a decade ago were fully "analog" and didn't require this level of complexity, but if you want to have a reasonably modern system with proper battery protection and redundant safeties, you will need to understand CANBUS.

4. Fabrication Skills

Every car is different, and there are few, if any, fully drop-in kits at the moment. You will need to be able to fabricate brackets and mounting plates, and cut, bend, weld, grind, and paint metal. 3D modeling software skills are a definite plus, especially if you want to outsource any of the metal fab work.

5. High Voltage Safety Training

Before dealing with electrical systems and DC voltages that can kill you, we highly recommend taking a high voltage safety training course. There are many available on the market. Also, procure safety equipment such as rubber mats, high voltage rubber gloves, insulated tools, and EH Rated safety boots or shoes.

6. Special Equipment

People who have the above skillsets may have much of the basic mechanical and electrical tools needed. You will also need an engine hoist, dollies, carts, hydraulic wire crimpers, special pinning tools, CANbus readers, FLIR cameras, and more to complete a successful conversion. You may also need equipment such as a lathe, belt sander, drill press, welder, band saw, hydraulic press, among other standard power tools.

7. Persistence

Research and troubleshooting is a huge part of the process. Many of the components lack good documentation (in English), and often some degree of research, testing, and experimentation is required to understand the systems. You may do months of research before deciding on a set of matching components, and months more reading and understanding the component manuals before even beginning the work. The wiring, crimping, soldering, pinning, etc can also be very tedious and time consuming, especially if you're not used to doing them regularly. You need to have a good understanding of the complexities of automotive systems and electric drive systems, and how everything interacts with each other. There are numerous decisions to be made, many of which have cascading consequences throughout other systems that must be understood.

The above items are often not fully considered by many before entering into a project. Our job is to simplify and speed up the process for you so you can enjoy your classic ride sooner. Your time is precious. Let us do the work, so you can enjoy the drive.

This depends on a few factors, including which battery type and size you select. But generally speaking, we don't build conversions with less than 100 miles of usable range. We try to get our builds closer to 150 miles of usable range. Once your budget and battery selection are understood, we will let you know what range to expect from the conversion. This does depend on ambient conditions, how you drive, how fast you drive, wind, elevation, etc all of which affect the actual range on a given trip. With our current VW Beetle conversion offering, it's difficult to get more than 150 miles of real-world range due to limited battery space and weight capacity.

There are a few reasonable options we can utilize for batteries, and during the interview phase of your project we will discuss the pros and cons of the various battery options for you to make an educated decision. We will come up with the best battery solution for your specific needs and situation. Generally options include used modules from existing EVs, like Teslas, or new LFP cells.

No, we don't perform electric vehicle repairs. This is something we may consider in the future. We generally recommend that most maintenance work can be performed by any regular mechanic / shop (tires, brakes, suspension etc). If you have an out-of-warranty EV with an electric drivetrain specific problem, feel free to reach out if you don't know where to go. We may be able to point you in the right direction.

Our business model is based on providing the best value EV conversions, using known good systems that integrate directly with specific vehicles. This is unfortunately not possible with one-off, bespoke conversions, as there is a lot of time spent learning the vehicle, designing a custom solution, and overcoming the numerous hurdles - all which add up to more cost. We do hope to expand our offerings to a variety of different, popular vehicles in the future.

Possibly, if you're interested in converting a VW Beetle to electric but don't currently have one, don't hesitate to reach out. This isn't something we specialize in, but we do have a few resources available which might help. We would charge a small finder's fee only if successful in landing you in a vehicle.